New Scientist


Groundbreaking laser of ghostly particles may be impossible to build

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000

A year ago, researchers made a splash with a wildly creative idea for building a laser from notoriously elusive particles, but a new analysis shows this is probably impossible


A nuclear reactor is being installed a mile underground in Kansas

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Deep Fission has just received safety approval from the US Department of Energy for a reactor design that it plans to install at the bottom of a deep hole


Can we really reverse global warming after overshooting 1.5°C?

Wed, 02 Sep 2026 04:00:00 +0000

A UN report says it’s possible to get global temperatures back down to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, but many researchers regard this scenario as highly unlikely


Are you made of real-world quarks or virtual-world qubits?

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Is it possible we’re living in a virtual simulation? Professor Catherine Heymans, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, does the maths on whether anything is actually real


How Ukraine created world-leading prostheses amid the chaos of war

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Injuries from the war in Ukraine have forced the country to develop highly advanced prostheses and fit them in record numbers. What can the rest of the world learn from its efforts? 


The first signs of dark matter particles may finally have been spotted

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Most of the matter in the universe is dark matter, but for decades physicists haven’t been able to directly observe it – that may have just changed


The UK just had its hottest summer ever 

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:39:25 +0000

The average temperature in the UK in June, July and August 2026 has eclipsed the record set in summer 2025, and the record-breaking heat was made 130 times more likely by human-caused climate change 


Mountain warming means there will be more disasters like the Nepal flood

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:49:16 +0000

Mountainous regions across the planet are warming especially fast, melting the ice that glues rocky slopes and glaciers together


The best new science-fiction books of September 2026

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

From China Miéville to Brandon Sanderson via a tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin, there are some really huge names with new sci-fi novels out this month - as well as a new Doctor Who tale, says Alison Flood


How our bodies adapt to extreme temperatures – until it gets too hot

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

No matter where you’re from, there are things you can do to cope better with extreme temperatures. But it takes work to stop our bodies’ adaptations from slipping backwards over winter, and there are limits to how far we can go